76 The Visit

Eris's attitude gradually changed. Instead of imitating her grandfather Saurios, she was becoming more like Gilgamesh. This was something very different and special that had completely changed her day-to-day life. She received not only physical training but also learned a character that was only used by the person she admired the most until now. 

Gilgamesh never looked down on a servant, he never insulted those who didn't deserve it, and he sought to occasionally boast about his precious skills. But under no circumstances did he give importance to people beneath him, and if he was now training Eris, it was because she would be his betrothed, and he saw a special aura in her that, if maintained, could make her worthy of him. 

Many might think that Gilgamesh's standards were very high for what he expected from a woman, but they say that the woman you marry will reflect in the future what a man is worth, and vice versa. He understood perfectly what he could offer, so he expected the minimum from a woman who might share with him perhaps the last moments of his life. 

He had never married, having lived and died as a mortal, so there was no one who understood the value of marriage better than him. He wanted to make a good choice and not succumb solely to skin-deep appearances. 

When he looked at Eris, he saw many things that could happen in the future, things he would have preferred not to have seen. However, now that he knew that she might even give her life for him if their relationship grew stronger, he knew that the least he could do was train her and look after her. 

But he was not so presumptuous as to think that this was set in stone and had to be that way. He understood the laws of fate and knew the variant effects he was causing in this place with his sudden appearance, so he knew that anything could happen if he wished it. 

Should he remain indifferent or delve into what he had seen? 

From that moment on, he stopped using that ability on women because he didn't want to discover any surprises that might put him in a state of different thoughts. He had heard of the Human God and something happening with one of his wives, but he didn't know if it was just one or perhaps more. Nevertheless, he now had to take care of Eris just to ease his conscience. He wouldn't want to know now; it wasn't as fun. 

As Gilgamesh was resting, he heard some faint footsteps that he immediately recognized as Eris's. She didn't make much noise and sat down beside him while looking at the sky. She never thought that her life would change so radically just because of the presence of the Red Prince she had talked about so much. 

"The rule for every strong man and woman is that they cannot be taken by surprise, Eris..." Gilgamesh opened his eyes, but his attitude stopped being so gentle, and he began to behave more and more like he would with anyone else. 

"And I must assess how strong an opponent is before even drawing my sword, I understand perfectly," Eris was also much calmer, with a serene aura that gave the impression of being in the presence of a woman with strong character. 

"You have an entirely different ethics from mine when it comes to deciding to fight, but remember that you should always go all the way and not stop halfway," Gilgamesh turned his head on the grass where Eris lay. He smiled slightly and murmured, "I will teach you to understand the value of the earth, honest work, and the bravery of a commoner..." 

"Is it important to understand those things?" Eris asked the same question that Gilgamesh had asked his friend Enkidu when he taught him the importance of life, and after that, he was considered the greatest king of his time. 

"Touch the earth, Eris, feel its vitality, and understand where life comes from... When you come to understand the true value of coexistence, which not only includes your personal ruggedness in life, you will know that you have achieved wisdom in this life." Gilgamesh spoke these words as if he were talking to his younger self, someone who needed a friend with whom to share these kinds of moments. 

He had also noticed that Eris had no friends; she was alone, just like him, so that was also one of the reasons why he would stay here until this mana concentration was completely eliminated from this place. 

"But very few people our age understand that..." Gilgamesh didn't want to put undue pressure on Eris to make her think she should understand this when it took him more than thirty years to do so. 

"Do you already know all of this?" Eris, who had become accustomed to the special aura that Gilgamesh emitted, didn't feel any emotion that would disorient her from his refined behavior. 

"Who knows? Maybe it has changed in this place... Everything is constantly changing, including our destiny." Gilgamesh smiled pleasantly, making it this time impossible for Eris to control her facial expressions. 

"Yes, everything is constantly changing..." Eris nodded as she gazed randomly into the distance. 

Gilgamesh jumped to his feet and said, "By the way, your birthday is approaching, so you can ask me for any kind of gift you want; I'll get you whatever you ask for." 

Eris didn't hesitate and replied, "Then I want a dragon..." 

"A lizard with wings?" Gilgamesh thought for a moment and, out of curiosity, asked, "What's so good about dragons? I could believe in a Spirit that protects you; that ritual was in the book we took from those guys at the auction house." 

Eris blushed when she realized that Gilgamesh was taking her words seriously, so she quickly said, "I don't want a dragon, whatever you give me, I'm sure I'll like it." 

"Perhaps after studying those summoning rituals for familiars and creating spirit servants, I can try a few times to see what comes out... Anyway, I'll give you a beautiful gift, Eris," Gilgamesh said as he reached out his hand towards her and added, "But you have etiquette classes, even if they aren't important, we should never be a mongrel..." 

"What's a mongrel?" Eris asked, confused, as they approached the castle's entrance. 

"Well, that's something similar to the word 'commoners,' but I used it before to naturally dictate something with a unique meaning... But not all commoners should be called by this name, only those who don't respect me. Well, that word comes to mind after remembering something..." 

Gilgamesh bid farewell to Eris and remained lost in thought about his past. In the end, he too had been a Mongrel for having died as a human. "Although my love for humanity now doesn't allow me to use this word regularly..." 

"Ghislaine, where are you going?" Gilgamesh noticed a carriage with Eris's teacher traveling alone. 

"I'm looking for a potential master for Eris in magic..." Ghislaine mentioned this briefly, thinking it wasn't of interest to Gilgamesh. 

"Is it far?" Gilgamesh had nothing else to do, so he asked instead.